Two Lovers
Two Lovers stars Joaquin Phoenix as Leonard Kraditor a timid Jewish New Yorker with an ability to make people laugh when he’s finally comfortable with them but who also carries a lot of pain that makes him prone to suicide. Despite this and living at home with his parents he has managed to capture the affections of two beautiful women. Sandra Cohen (Vinessa Shaw) is the daughter of a family business associate who is clearly the sensible choice and probably would have been save for a chance meeting with Michelle Rausch (Gwyneth Paltrow). Michelle is obviously nothing but trouble being partial to chemical recreation and involved already with Ronald Blatt (Montreal’s Elias Koteas) a married man. However Leonard is powerlessly infatuated and long before they’re fully involved he finds himself sneaking around and hiding the truth about Michelle from his parents Ruth (Isabella Rossellini) and Reuben (Moni Moshonov). Phoenix who has done some odd things lately most notably his announced plan to leave film and pursue a career as a rap artist. Whether he did this project before or after that big announcement, Two Lovers fits into his litany of oddities – not that it’s bad, just odd.